PHETE program hosts alumni guest speakers

By: Brittany Bell
Creative Services Student Writer

Most JMU programs offer opportunities for students to hear alumni speakers share their experiences after graduation. On January 28, JMU’s Physical and Health Education Teacher Education (PHETE) program welcomed alumni Jimmy Little (’99) and Isabel Chang (’16) to share helpful career insights. Both Little and Chang began their careers in Montgomery County, Maryland as physical education teachers at Julius West Middle School (JWMS).

The PHETE program is a 5-year MAT concentration in Kinesiology that leads to a VA license to teach Health and Physical Education.  The program is known for its progressive engagement within schools, highly respected faculty, and graduating highly effective and competent professional leaders.  “All of the professors I’ve encountered in the PHETE program had a genuine passion for their profession and care about helping students learn and succeed. PHETE is special because of people like [professor] Jackie Williams,” said Little. “The coursework challenges you to think about and value multiple perspectives to create meaningful lessons that include all students. I became a better person through my experiences with the PHETE program and I will forever be grateful.”

Little went on to be named Maryland Middle School Teacher of the Year in 2014 and JWMS became a Maryland Physical Education Demonstration School which recognizes outstanding programs.  Little has remained in contact with JMU throughout the years, communicating about job openings and to coordinate PHETE student visits.    

This year, instead of having students visit JWMS, Little and Chang decided to bring two colleagues with them to JMU to speak with the students. “It’s nice for them to see the real world, but we also thought this would be a great professional development opportunity to come down here and present our material and share  our experiences about middle school P.E., “ said Chang.

Their presentation included the foundation of the JWMS physical education program and how it continues to grow and remain successful, while also discussing the challenges of the profession.

 “This was a really insightful experience that opened my eyes to a different approach for implementing physical education in your classroom,” said Alex Balderson, a student in the PHETE program. “It was also really inspiring to hear them discuss that it all started from Jimmy’s vision of the [JWMS] program, and then his hard work and dedication in forming lasting and positive relationships with his students.” 

Not only did Little and Chang share their own personal teaching experiences, but the current students had the ability to interview with the Montgomery County School system.. According to Little, Montgomery County has been continually impressed with JMU graduates and wants to bring more qualified candidates into the school system.

While Little and Chang are not the first alumni to come back as guest speakers for their profession, their visit shows how important alumni involvement is. Alumni have a unique opportunity to give back by helping current students.

“It is important for alumni to give back to the JMU community and in general because we can share real life examples, stories and experiences that we have gone through having similar educational backgrounds,” said Chang. “It is also important for us to continue to grow, learn and extend our knowledge that we have acquired to others who can benefit from it.”

“It gives students hope that they can do whatever they set their mind to, and to actually see people living out the things that they have learned at JMU,” added Balderson.